All very good points (and far more useful than my ideas). I pulled my car. Aside from just being pissed and feeling insulted, I had a tight magazine deadline to deal with. So I waited until the car was in primer and then pulled the job.
To me, rule number one is to take the car to a shop that specializes in restorations and customs such as Prodigy Customs in Orlando--not a general collision shop. The lure of insurance claim money is just too great for them. Actually you could crash into your own car at his shop, put in a claim, and get it done faster!
Going to a custom shop usually costs more per hour--and they usually adhere to their hourly rates (no flat rate). But the results and total experience are usually worthwhile. I learned the same lesson with fabricators:
-Got a quote from the pro: $75/hr. Said no way--can't afford it.
-Went with the meat-head who quoted a flat rate that should have worked out to $35/hr. But then the guy banged me on the way out the door. Total charge from the meathead worked out to $75/hr anyway.
-And then I had to pay the pro $75/hr to fix the problems caused by the meat-head.
Total charge for my naive ignorance? Cha-ching: $150/hr for $75/hr value in work. Brilliant.
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Steve Chryssos
Ridetech.com
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